


Curiosity

by goddammitolive



Category: One Piece
Genre: Eavesdropping, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Mentioned Kaya, Mild Hurt/Comfort, New Relationship, Post-Thriller Bark, Pre-sabaody, Secret Relationship, Spying, Usopp being nosey, if you really squint Usopp/Kaya, pre-two year gap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23650558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goddammitolive/pseuds/goddammitolive
Summary: Usopp cursed his nosiness. He was never really good at minding his own business. Other people’s business was just more interesting. But right now, with a sword to his throat and a foot inches from his face, he really really wishes he just would mind his own goddamn business.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 8
Kudos: 203





	Curiosity

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey, this is my first fic for this fandom. I used to read One Piece, but then I stopped at about the Impel Down arc. I decided to start it again from the beginning, since I have nothing to do (thanks to the quarantine), and its been over five years since I've actually read the series (yes shame me in the comments, I'm terrible). So if things seem kinda off in the story I'm sorry, it's based off of memory, since I'm not at Thriller Bark yet. Also, I'm sorry if things aren't grammatically correct, I'm absolute shit at writing, and even worse at spelling. Still, I hope you guys enjoy it!

Now Usopp didn't mean to spy on them. He really didn’t, but sometimes his nosiness got the better of him. He never actually planned on being sneaky, it just always turned out that way. He always seems to just happen upon interesting situations. Obviously the gods wanted him to know the information, or they wouldn’t put him in that particular situation. And who was he to turn down the gods' fate? This wasn’t the first time his nosiness put him in a bad position, but he sure regretted it the most. 

Usopp tried his hardest to hold his breath, scared that if he breathed too hard, his Adam’s apple would be sliced on the tip of Zoro's sword. Currently, a very angry Zoro was holding the tip of his sword to Usopp's throat. His other hand was balled up in the shorter man’s overalls, holding him in place. Behind the swordsman stood an equally angry and equally scary Sanji with his foot up mere inches from Usopp’s face. 

Was this really how he was gonna go out? After months of battling with dangerous pirates, bounty hunters and marines, he was going to be killed by his own nakama for spying? How pathetic. Usopp turned his head, trying his hardest to inch away from the blade at his throat and the foot near his head. He threw his hands up defensively. 

“Guys, guys, c’mon you don’t have to kill me! We can just all pretend this never happened!” He stuttered, letting out an awkward laugh. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to do the trick. Zoro let out a low growl and pushed the blade closer. Usopp could now feel the cold metal kissing his throat. This was going to be his sad, sad end. 

“Oh no, I think we might, shithead. No one likes a dirty little spy.” Sanji growled. He lowered his foot and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. He opened it and pulled a cigarette from the pack with his lips. He flicked the lighter a few times before lighting his cigarette and taking a long drag. “I’m going to ask you one more time you little shit. What. Did. You. See.” He looked up, glaring daggers into the sharpshooter as he put the lighter and the pack back into his pocket. Usopp opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Zoro gripped his overalls tighter.

“I don’t think it would be wise to lie in your current situation either.” He made sure to remind Usopp that he had a blade to his throat by digging the blade in deeper, almost enough to draw blood. Usopp felt a squeal escape from his mouth and cursed his brain for letting it happen. 

“Okay, okay, I won’t, I promise! I’ll tell you, just ease up on the killing me for a moment at least.” He panicked. He was trying to decide if squirming from the blade would bring his throat closer or further from danger. Zoro looked back at Sanji, looking for the other’s approval to remove his sword from their crewmates throat. Sanji sighed and shrugged, taking another drag from his cigarette. The swordsman tsked and resheathed his sword. Usopp immediately started gasping for air and dropped to his knees, sputtering a bunch of thanks to the gods for sparing his life if only momentarily.

“Oi, hurry up, we ain’t got all day,” Zoro grunted. He crossed his arms, and looked down at the groveling man below him. “And don’t forget, if we don’t like your answer we will kill you.” Usopp looked up at the man, tears in his eyes and he was terrified. Even though he had been sailing with Zoro all these months, he never forgot why the man was referred to as the demon pirate hunter, especially now. Usopp looked over at Sanji, who was wearing a scowl of annoyance on his face. He was biting down hard on the filter end of his cigarette. Usopp gulped. He couldn’t lie his way out of this one. Even if he did and Zoro and Sanji didn’t kill him, he wouldn’t be able to look them in the face after this. He was a liar but c’mon, he had some morals. Lying to his nakama about something this serious wasn’t something he could do with a good conscience. Usopp sighed, and rose to his feet. He couldn’t make eye contact with either man in front of him so he stared at the floorboards. 

“Fine, I’ll tell you exactly what I saw.” 

✤

It had been a typical day aboard the Sunny. They were a few days away from the Florian Triangle and everyone was worn out and surprisingly calm. The day, like the last few days, had consisted of everyone doing their own thing. Robin read, Nami sunbathed, Zoro trained, Sanji cooked, Franky made some SUPER upgrades to the Sunny, and Chopper, Luffy, and Usopp requested almost every song they’d ever heard from their newest crewmate, Brook. The day carried on as usual for everyone, that is until after dinner. 

The crew rotated shifts on who would help Sanji with cleaning up after dinner, and tonight it had been Zoro’s turn. Although no one said it, everyone was a bit on edge about this. Sanji and Zoro had been at each other’s throats even more than usual since leaving Thriller Bark and no one could quite figure out why. Their fights had become even more volatile and angry, resulting in several repairs to the poor Sunny and tension among the crew. Today had been the first day since they left without a fight. 

Dinner had gone almost without a hitch. Sanji had prepared a wonderful dinner from the fish that Usopp and Luffy had caught earlier that day and everyone was stuffed to the brim, well almost everyone.

“Sanji,” Luffy rubbed his bulging stomach with one hand and picked his teeth with a fishbone with the other. “Is there more food?” He whined. The cook turned his head away Robin, who he had been chatting with. Usopp laughed to himself as Sanji’s lovey-dovey face quickly switched to one of annoyance. 

“No, you glutton! And don’t pick your teeth at the table! It’s disgusting!” He yelled, kicking Luffy in the face. He quickly turned back to Robin, heart eyes immediately returning. Usopp laughed as Luffy grabbed the growing bump on his head and groaned.“So sorry about his repulsive behavior Robin-chan, I hope it hasn’t ruined your dinner too much!” He swooned. 

“Not at all cook-san,” She gently laughed, giving him a small grin that melted Sanji. At the other end of the table, Zoro let out a curt laugh 

“Stupid love-cook,” He muttered, and took a swig from the bottle of sake he had sitting in front of him. He set the bottle down and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head. Sanji’s frown was even deeper than before. Nami and Robin exchanged concerned looks.

“Fuck did you just say, marimo?” Sanji scowled. This was exactly what everyone was hoping to avoid. Zoro opened his eyes and sat up in his seat. He glared at the cook. Usopp shrunk down into his seat, he’d made a major mistake in sitting between the cook and the swordsman. Maybe he could run off before things got too bad. He was too busy trying to think of a quick escape plan that he almost didn’t feel the little tug on his left arm. He looked down at Chopper. The little doctor was wearing a look of fear and concern. He had to continuously patch up his bickering crewmates, and the negative energy on the boat was getting to him the most. Usopp gave Chopper a grin as if to tell him it was gonna be okay. Chopper immediately perked up, trying to stay as tough as the sharpshooter appeared to be. 

“I said,” Zoro started, scooting his chair back to stand up, and Sanji followed suit. The two were now facing each other, and boy if looks could kill. “You are a stupid lo-,”

“Hey enough!” Nami had jumped in between the two of them pushing them to either side of the kitchen. “We don’t have the supplies for you two to fight and destroy the ship again. We are still days away from the nearest island.” She grumbled, she grabbed at her hair in annoyance. 

“Yes my beautiful Nami-san, you’re so right! If this stupid marimo would just keep his mouth shut,” Sanji started and Zoro lunged at him, only for both to receive a hard punch on the head from Nami. 

“Stop!” She barked, trying to pry the two away from each other. 

“Cook-san, perhaps I should help with cleaning up tonight,” Robin advised. Standing, she reached for the empty plates in front of her. Usopp watched as Sanji's face changed to one of horror at the sight of one of his precious ladies cleaning up. 

“No my dearest Robin-chan, don’t worry yourself with this. This is my job.” He rushed over to grab the empty plates out of Robin’s hands and quickly started collecting the remaining ones on the table. “You and the lovely Nami-san don’t need to worry! We’ll have this place cleaned up in no time with no damage, I promise you!” He smiled wide, trying to get the girls to think everything was okay. Nami let out a heavy sigh and walked towards the door to the galley. 

“Whatever. I’m going to sleep. I don’t care if you kill each other, just don’t destroy anything or I’ll add it to both of your debts,” With that she was out the door. 

“Yes Nami-san,” Sanji chanted after her. He shouted praise of her beauty and how smart she was. Zoro, on the other hand, crossed his arms, mumbling something. The only words Usopp was able to make out were “Nami” and “witch”. By death glare Sanji gave Zoro, Usopp assumed he was referring to Nami as a witch. Robin and Franky left the galley next, Franky was mumbling something about installing super non-destructive walls on his way out. 

“Oi, Brook can we hear some more songs before bedtime?” Luffy said, wearing a big grin on his face. He seemed to be the only one not affected by his crewmates fighting. He had digested his food now and was jumping around the galley. Brook let out a loud boisterous laugh 

“Ya-ho-ho-ho! Of course captain-san!” He grabbed his violin and started playing an upbeat tune. Luffy and Chopper followed him out chanting “music” over and over. Usopp followed behind the other two chanting as well, but when he got to the galley door he looked back, a worried look coming over his face. 

Sanji and Zoro looked like they were having a less than pleasant time. The dishes had been cleared from the table and placed in the sink, but the galley was still a disaster (mostly because of their captain). Sanji was standing at the sink rinsing off the dishes before setting them to soak, and Zoro was sweeping bits of food and other particles off of the floor. They both looked very unhappy and they weren’t speaking, but hey, it beats fighting. Usopp was torn away from the galley by Luffy shouting his name, saying he was missing the new song that had started. He dashed down the stairs to where Luffy, Chopper and Brook were all dancing. He decided that Sanji and Zoro would be okay. Sanji would never break his promise to Nami and Robin anyways. 

✤

About an hour or so later, Usopp, Chopper, Luffy and Brook had made it back to the men’s quarters. Chopper, Luffy, and Brook had promptly passed out in their respective hammocks. Usopp stayed up to finish a design on a new type of fishing pole he was working on in his bed. Shortly after, Franky had stumbled in surprisingly quiet. Usopp guessed he thought that everyone was already asleep. Usopp feigned sleep as the cyborg changed and quickly got into his bed. He waited for the sounds of the cyborg snoring to start up again before he resumed his sketches. He wasn’t really all that tired, and if anything he could always sleep during the day unless something out of the ordinary happened, but he doubted that. 

All the body heat in the men’s cabin made it a hot place to sleep. Usopp started to sweat. He tried to ignore it until a drop fell on his sketch, blurring part of the image. He frowned. He was gonna have to start over again in the morning. He tossed the notepad down on his hammock and hopped out of bed. He needed some cold water and some fresh air before he could fall asleep. He quietly tiptoed out of the men’s quarters and up to the deck of the Sunny. Usopp stretched and then looked up at the moon. It was bright and full and beautiful. It filled his heart. He wondered to himself briefly if Kaya could see the moon as well as he could. 

He shook his head, climbing the stairs to the galley. He needed to get the water and go to sleep. Usopp had just reached for the door when he heard Sanji’s voice from the other side of the door. Usopp paused. He hadn’t seen Sanji come to bed and it was really late now. Come to think of it, he hadn’t even seen Sanji since dinner. The sharpshooter pressed his ear to the door trying to listen in. 

“Don’t be ridiculous cook.” This time, it was Zoro’s voice he heard. Had Sanji and Zoro been up this whole time arguing? It was odd, Zoro didn’t sound angry. Usopp frowned, what could they be talking about? They hardly talked when they weren’t arguing. He heard a sniffle, and then there was a lull in the conversation. What was going on? Was one of them crying? He thought to himself. His brow furrowed. He’d almost never seen either Sanji or Zoro cry, and this didn’t seem like a fitting situation for the first time. He could peek through the porthole, but he would run the risk of getting caught. He heard more sniffling and mumbled speech. He couldn’t make out who was talking. He was dying to look. A peek couldn’t hurt.

Usopp peeked into the porthole, trying to stand off to the side so he wouldn’t be seen. But nothing could’ve prepared him for what he saw. In the kitchen, he saw Sanji his face buried into Zoro’s shoulder and arms wrapped around the swordsman’s neck. Zoro was hugging him, rubbing his back and whispering into his ear. Usopp watched mouth agape, as the two held the embrace before slowly pulling apart. 

“I just, I can’t, I don’t want to lose you,” Sanji’s voice was low and hoarse, like he had been crying for a while. Usopp couldn’t make out his face. He was staring at the ground and both of his eyes were covered by his hair from this angle. Zoro’s face was twisted with concern and worry. He still had one hand on Sanji’s lower back, rubbing small circles into the other’s back. “You’re so reckless! You could have died.” Sanji sobs, falling back into Zoro’s shoulder and gripping the back of the other man’s shirt. Usopp assumed Sanji meant for the last part to be more forceful than it was. 

“But I didn’t. I’m not going anywhere for a long time, whether you like it or not.” Zoro grins and pulls Sanji in tighter. Usopp was speechless. It was so strange to see the two acting like actual nakama instead of sworn enemies. Why did they hide this from everyone else? Usopp wants to look away and give them their space, but he can’t. It was so intriguing. 

Sanji pulls away again and looks up at Zoro. This time Usopp can see his eye, bright and blue and welling with tears. Sanji grabs Zoro face and --- 

They kiss?

Sanji and Zoro were standing in the galley kissing. 

Usopp must be exhausted. He turns away rubbing his eyes, and smacks himself on the cheeks, trying to wake himself from his dazed phase. He looks back into the porthole and the two are still kissing. Now it’s more frantic and desperate. Sanji grabbing and pulling at Zoro’s green hair trying to bring his head down so he can kiss him deeper. Zoro’s hands are all over Sanji like he’s not sure what to grab or for how long, like he’s afraid if he doesn’t touch all of him he’ll soon be gone. 

They stumble around, Sanji pushing Zoro towards the dinner table. Without breaking their kiss, Zoro reaches up and grabs the top of Sanji’s shirt and rips it open, buttons flying across the galley. Sanji pulls away and pinches Zoro’s ear in anger.

“Hey you stupid moss ball, this shirt was expensive, and I liked it a lot.” He mumbles angrily. Zoro chuckles and gives him a look that Usopp knows means trouble for him. 

“You’ll like what I’m about to do much more,” He purrs and sinks his face into Sanji’s neck, eliciting a soft moan from the other man. Usopp shutters in disgust. Why can’t he look away? He says a little quick prayer to the gods that he’ll force himself to look away before anything happens. 

The Gods must have heard Usopp’s prayers and so did Zoro and Sanji, because the two were frozen and staring at the porthole window right at Usopp. Whoops. 

✤

So that is how Usopp ended up with a sword at his throat.

“And that’s all I saw, I swear! Now please don’t kill me.” Usopp cries out. He crumbles back to the floor groveling at the pair in front of him. Zoro smacks his hand on his face and Sanji mumbles a slew of curses before stamping his cigarette out on the counter. 

“He’s seen too much, we have no choice but to kill him,” He says turning to Sanji, his hands on the hilt of his sword as he gets ready to draw. Usopp shrieks. 

“You idiot, we can’t actually kill him!” Sanji shouts, he’s already lit another cigarette. He takes a drag. “Just let me think” he mutters and Zoro rolls his eyes.

“Killing him would be much easier,” He mumbles, but shrugs. He takes a seat at the dinner table and kicks his legs up. The bottle of sake from earlier is still there and the swordsman takes a large swig from the bottle. Sanji seemed to snap out of his thinking phase to yell at Zoro about putting his feet up on his table and the two begin arguing. Usopp makes a break for the door, but he’s stopped by a swift kick to the head.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Sanji is livid. Usopp swears he can almost feel the heat radiating off the cook’s body. He keeps a foot on Usopp's chest so the younger man can move from his spot. Usop stammers for any excuse but the truth. He probably looks like a turned over cockroach trapped under Sanji’s foot 

“See, we should just do it,” Zoro pouts. Sanji whips his head around,

“NO!” Sanji yells. He suddenly takes a deep breath and grabs Usopp by the arm, pulling him upright. “Look, I’m not going to deny what you saw or tell you it’s wrong,” He looks off to the side as he speaks like he’s embarrassed to be having this conversation. Usopp feels exactly the same. “Me and the idiot marimo have, erhm, certain feelings we have been working out lately, and we’re still pretty new to them,” He pauses, taking a few deep drags from his cigarette before finally looking at Usopp in the face. “So we would really appreciate it if you kinda just kept things quiet around the ship. At least until we figure it out ourselves,” And now Sanji looks like he’s desperate. All the cockiness and coolness that he usually exudes gone, and replaced with awkwardness and desperation. Usopp is quiet, trying to think of the right words to say. “I swear, we won’t kill you!” Sanji adds awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Unless you snitch,” Zoro chimes in, pointing his bottle of sake at the younger man. Sanji whips around, shouting at the first mate to shut up. Usopp finally stops thinking about his life being at risk and thinks about Zoro and Sanji’s situation. They were in love, well maybe not in love yet, but they liked each other a lot. A lot more than just as nakama. He didn’t really mind if they were together, as long as they were happy, that’s all that mattered right? They would always be the same old Zoro and Sanji, just more together now. And maybe if they stopped would stop trying to kill each other so much and everything could be as it should. Usopp listened to them argue for a while longer, before he found the courage to speak up.

“I won’t,” He says and both their eyes turn to look at him. Both of them breathe a sigh of relief. “Your secret is safe with me. It’s your relationship, and it should only be up to you guys to decide when and who you’re ready to tell.” He gives them a big grin. “I’m sorry I intruded on your moment!” He makes his way to the exit, he can feel Zoro and Sanji’s eyes digging into his back. When he reaches the door he pushes it open, but pauses, turning back to the couple.

He gives them a smile that could rival Luffy’s, “I just hope that you guys make each other happy.” Sanji and Zoro give him a big grin in return. Zoro stands up from his seat and wraps his arm around the cook.

"Thanks, Usopp,” he smiles and places a kiss on the cook’s cheek. Sanji flushes bright pink and Usopp laughs. 

He closes the door behind him and makes his way back down to the men’s quarters. He can’t help but think of Zoro and Sanji their odd relationship the whole time. On the surface they pretended to despise each other but the truth was they really cared about each other a lot. Maybe that was the real reason they fought, not for lack of care towards one another, but because of the overflow of it. They were able to find someone who would give their not so normal lives a small sense of normalcy. They asked him not to tell anyone on the ship, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t write Kaya a letter in the morning telling her what happened. He turns over and plants his face into his pillow, letting out a small giggle, before going to sleep.

He never did get his water.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you guys enjoyed this and would like to see more. I kinda have an idea for a short series and more time on my hands than I really want. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!


End file.
